Method of and device for tightening a wrap around blank about a group of receptacles



Nov. 24, 1970 N. L. BERTRAND I 3,541,757

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 8, 1968 8 Sheets-Sheet 1' I N VENTOR. Norma/m L. Berfranc/ A TTOR/VEY Nov. 24, 1970 N. L. BERTRAND 3,541,757

. METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP, AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 8, 1968 8 Sheets-Sheetz INVENTOR. Normand L Berfra/m Nov. 24, 1970 BERTRAND 3,541,757

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 8, 1968 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Normand L. Barf/and W A TTORNEY 3,541,757 METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND Nov. 24,- 1970 N. L. BERTRAND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES' '3 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 8, 1968 g OO O O O .O 90 Q OOQ O z a MH I 4 {I x 5 i J IVA 2 ES I lliwo .1! 6 0 II Q 1 2 3 k 0 0 705 I1 .O o o 1! O O Fig. 4

INVENTOR. Norma/70 L fierfrand 1970 N. L. BERTRAND 3,54 7

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 8, 1968 8' Sheets-Sheet 5 l N VEN TOR. Normand L Bel-franc? Nov. 24, 1970 N. L. BERTRAND 7 3,541,151

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHIENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES,

Filed Jan. 8, 1968 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR ATTORNEY 1970 N. L. BERTRAND 75 METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 8, 1968 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig. 7

1 N VEN TOR. Normand Berfmna A TTORNE) Nov. 24, 1970 N. 1.. BERTRAND 3,541,757

Y METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Filed Jan. 8, 1968 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. Norma/7d L Berfra/m United States Patent 3,541,757 lVlETHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR TIGHTENING A WRAP AROUND BLANK ABOUT A GROUP OF RECEPTACLES Normand L. Bertrand, Redwood City, Calif., assignor to Certipak Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 696,477 Int. Cl. B65b 27/04; B26b 21/24 US. Cl. 53-32 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to improvements in method and devices for enclosing a group of receptacles, such as cans, bottles or jars, in a wrap-around blank to form an open-ended package.

The blank employed for this purpose is usually an elongated strip of paperboard transversely scored to define top, side and bottom panel portions. The blank is wrapped around a group of receptacles most commonly arranged in two rows of three, but greater and smaller numbers of receptacles are occasionally packaged, including receptacles arranged in a single row.

The ends of the blank are overlapped, at least partially, at the bottom of the package, and are secured together by staples, adhesive or, most commonly, by glueless locks comprising a tab or tabs on one bottom portion inserted into an aperture or apertures in the other bottom portion of the blank.

The blank is provided with relief apertures at the junction between its side panels and the end panels which are to be secured together. Rim portions of the receptacles project through these apertures which may be formed, at least in part, by a tongue which is integral with and lies in the plane of, the respective end panel and extends at an angle with respect to the generally vertically disposed side portion or panel of the blank.

As the package is open-ended and usually lacks panels or flaps at its ends for the retention of the enclosed receptacles, the security of retention depends entirely on the tightness with which the blank is applied about the receptacles, and procedures and means must be employed for tightening the blank before its ends are connected together.

Various procedures are known and are in use for this purpose.

According to one known practice, the package is moved between laterally disposed compression belts which exert horizontal compression on the sides of the wrapper and against the receptacles. According to a variation of this general idea, force is exerted against the blank at the spaces between successive receptacles of a row.

According to a different practice, the bottom or end panels are provided with grab holes, and pins or fingers are inserted into these grab holes after the end panels are folded into overlapping bottom forming positions. The pins or fingers then draw the panels closer together, whereafter the panels are secured together.

The first mentioned procedure has the drawback that it does not preclude buckling of the blank at the juncture between sides and bottom, as the bottom forming end panels are pushed rather than pulled. A further drawback is that the procedure is substantially ineffective in reducing vertical slack of the wrapper.

The second procedure has the drawback that even though it is effective in pulling slack from the enclosing blank horizontally, it is not nearly as effective for reducing vertical slack which may remain. As aresult, the package may eventually have a rather loosely fitting wrapper, particularly after the package is allowed to settle permitting remaining slack to distribute itself evenly about the enclosed receptacles. The package may then not be sufficiently tight to prevent rattling-which is objectionable, particularly for glass receptacles-and may not be sufiiciently tight to hold the the receptacles securely.

These drawbacks persist regardless of whether the procedure is applied to the packaging of large volumes of receptacles in a continuous flow involving the tightening and securing of the wrap-around blanks while the packages are in continuous motion, or is applied to the packaging of a lesser production volume by a stop-and-go operation during which packages move intermittently from one station to the next for the performance of the required folding, overlapping, tightening, and securing operations.

The present improvements result in the elimination of both vertical as well as horizontal slack and are applicable to high volume production involving continuous operation and to lesser volume production involving intermittent operation. No special grab holes are required in the end panels, no pins or fingers are employed.

The present invention makes use of the relief apertures which are provided at the junction of sides and bottom portions of the blank and is based on the consideration that, if such apertures are produced by the formation of tabs or tongues which underlie the receptacles, it is possible to engage the blank by blades extending into the apertures at a point or line immediately above the tongues and that such engagement is also operative to lift the receptacles, which accomplishes several purposes: It lifts the receptacles and forces them towards the top panel, thereby reducing vertical slack. It further facilitates tightening of the blank by temporarily relieving the bottom panels of the weight of the receptacles. It finally causes the blank to crease at a line of juncture between sides and bottom which lies slightly higher than if the receptacles had not been lifted.

These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will appear more fully from the detailed description which follows accompanied by drawings showing, for the purpose of illustration, an application of this invention to the continuous packaging of receptacle groups in a continuous operation.

A copending application of Chester J. Pierce, Jr., Ser. No. 696,475, filed J an. 8, 1968 discloses mechanism for practicing the principles of this invention as applied to an intermittent operation.

Briefly stated, for continuous operation the blades which tighten the blank and lift the receptacles are longitudinally extended and the distance between them becomes progressively less as the package advances.

For intermittent operation the blades are spaced and parallel, and are periodically moved towards and away from each other similar to the motion of the jaws of a parallel-jawed wire cutter, such movement taking place while the package is at rest at a tightening station.

The invention also resides in certain new and original features of construction, combination of elements, and method steps, as well as sequences of method steps.

Although the characteristic features of this invention which are believed to be novel will be particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself, its objects and advantages, and the manner in which it may be carried out may be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of it in which:

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a complete package, turned upside down to show the bottom panel locks;

FIGS. 2 to 7 are perspective views of successive stages of operation performed on the package;

FIG. 8 is a perspective detail view of the manner of engagement of the blank by a tightening blade; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional elevation of a supplemental and optional dovetail-rimmed roller adapted to exert compressive force on the edge of a tongue on the blank, the section being taken on line 99 of FIG. 7.

In the following description and in the claims various details will be identified by specific names for convenience. The names, however, are intended to be generic in their application. Corresponding reference characters refer to corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The drawings accompanying, and forming a part of, this specification disclose certain specific details of construction for the purpose of explanation of broader and generic aspects of the inventive method, the particular construction being devised for the practice of the inventive method in connection with the formation of packages in continuous motion. The aforesaid patent application of Chester J. Pierce, Jr., Ser. No. 696,475, discloses mechanism devised for the practice of the inventive method in connection with the formation of packages in intermittent motion in a rather compact machine.

It should be understood that structural details may be modified in various respects without departure from the principles of the invention and that the invention may be incorporated in, and practiced by, other structural forms than shown.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The package shown upside down in FIG. 1 comprises a group of six cans 11 enclosed in an elongated one-piece blank B of suitable foldable material, such as paperboard, comprising a central top panel 12, side panels 13, 14 and bottom panels 15, 16 overlapping at 17.

The juncture between the side panels and the top or bottom panels is defined by pairs of spaced parallel fold lines shown, for example, at 18, 19.

At the area of juncture tongues 20 are cut from the board. These tongues lie in the plane of the bottom panels with which they are integral, and are disposed at an angle with respect to the side panels and the area between the fold lines 18, 19.

This disposition of the tongues causes apertures 21 to be formed in the enclosure represented by the folded blank, through which apertures 21 portions of the chime ends 22 of the cans project.

The presence of chimes is not of significance for the protrusion of can portions through the apertures. Chimeless cans, bottles or jars project also, if enclosed in the blank B.

The terminal portions of the bottom panels are equipped with locking tabs 23 inserted in locking apertures 24.

The general shape of the blank as described to this point is known. The particular form of interlock of the bottom panels is of no consequence for the performance of the present method, nor is the specific shape of the receptacles which may also be jars or bottles. The bottom panels may be connected by adhesive, staples, or in any other manner after tightening of the blank about the group of receptacles to which the description shall now turn and the present invention concerns the tightening of the blank.

FIG. 2 shows the package, at the illustrated moment still incomplete, traveling through a packaging machine comprising laterally disposed conveyors 26, 27 fitted with lugs 28, 29 which propel both the group of cans and the blank which was previously placed thereover.

At the illustrated moment the receptacles 11 are supported by, and slide on, a central track plate 30 and they are laterally guided by rails of L shaped cross section, one such rail being visible at 31. The bottom forming ends of the blank are obscured by parts of the machinery. At the illustrated moment the bottom panels still depend downwardly from the side panels 13, 14 and are being folded towards an overlapping position underneath the central track 30 (see FIG. 3).

This folding procedure causes the apertures at the juncture between the sides and bottom of the blank to Open, as the tongues 20 swing toward a horizontal position.

Forward of the position of the package (FIGS. 2 and 3) a pair of aperture engaging blades are mounted which are designed to move into the space above the respective tongue 20 and under the receptable bottoms, as shall presently be shown. One of the blades is visible at 33, the opposite blade 32 being obscured in FIG. 2 by other parts of the machinery. It is visible in FIG. 3.

Both blades 33 and 32 have outwardly flared entrance portions, as shown at 34 (FIG. 3) and 35 (FIG. 2). In the position shown in FIG. 3 the receptacle 11 still rest on, and are supported by, the central track 30.

In the position shown in FIG. 4 the blades have entered the lateral relief apertures of the blank just above the outwardly directed tongues 20 and lie underneath the bottom portions of the receptacles, thereby lifting the receptacles off the track and forming a gap 36. This causes the blank to be pulled downwardly with respect to the receptacles, thereby pulling slack at the top and sides of the enclosing blank.

The pull exerted by the blades becomes stronger as the package advances toward the observer of FIGS. 3 and 4, thus moving into areas of progressively narrower spacing of the blades 32, 33.

The engagement between blade 33 and blank B is shown in FIG. 8 which also illustrates a slight modification of the shape of the aperture 21 in which a depending vertical tongue 25 is also formed.

It is clearly seen in FIG. 8 that the blade 33 is of tapered transverse cross section and overlies the horizontal tongue 20 in a position to lift the bottom portion of receptacles (not shown in FIG. 8). A tightening force is exerted by the longitudinally extended relatively thin edge of the blade primarily at the crotch 38 of the aperture and secondarily against the portion 37 of the blank between apertures 21. The lift 36 (FIGS. 4 and 6) imparted to the receptacles is substantially equal to the thickness 136 of the blade measured at the point of engagement with the bottoms of the receptacles which lies at a distance from, and at a higher level than, the crotch-engaging edge of the blade.

In the position shown in FIG. 4 the bottom panels 15, 16 have assumed an angle of about degrees with each other under the central track and are about to be folded fiat into horizontal position as they emerge from under the central track structure. This is shown in FIG. 5. The bottom panels 15, 16 now overlap and ride up on a lifting cam or rail 39.

The tightening blades 32, 33 continue to tighten the blank as the distance between them decreases gradually while the weight of the package is being carried by the blades.

In the position shown in FIG. 6 the bottom panels are overlapped at 17 and are about to slide off the ends of the blades, only one blade (32) being visible.

At this point the connection of the bottom forming panels may take place by means of staples, adhesive or locking tabs, and the locking device may have the form described further below.

Nevertheless, an additional, supplemental tightening device comprising rollers operating on the laterally extending tongues may be employed.

The horizontal tongue 20 is seen to extend horizontally outwardly and may be brought to pass over a horizontal wheel or roller 40 having a large diameter flange portion 41 and a smaller diameter V groove or dovetail portion 42.

The right conveyor lug 29 obscures a corresponding Wheel or roller on the opposite side of the package, but the latter is visible in FIG. 7. In the illustrated position opposite tongues 20 are engaged by the V grooves of opposite wheels, to which the same reference numerals are applied for simplicity. The nature of the engagement is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 9.

The assembly of the two opposite wheels forms a nip for the horizontally extended tongues at the V portion, the nip being so dimensioned as to cause additional tightening of the bottom portions of the blank for the purpose of connection of the end panels in the overlapping tightening position.

As previously stated, the connection of the panels may be accomplished by adhesive, stapling, or as illustrated herein by insertion of locking tabs.

As shown in FIG. in which portions of the wheels 40 are visible at the left and at the right, a rotary tucker 43 mounted on a horizontal shaft 44 engages the respective lock tabs at the moment the blank undergoes its greatest degree of final tightening by the wheels 40.

If the packaging machine is not fitted with the supplementary rollers, the locking device 43, 44 would be arranged to act on the blank at the point of maximum tightening by the lateral blades.

Immediately thereafter the locked package moves onto short horizontal rails 45, 46 (FIG. 7) and is finally carried away by a conveyor 47 as the lugs 28, 29 of the lateral conveyors recede.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of tightening a wrap-around blank about a group of receptacles prior to connection of the end portions of the blank underneath said group to form a partially overlapping bottom and complete the package, employing a blank having apertures formed at the junction between its side panels and its bottom panels through which apertures rim portions of the receptacles project, such apertures being formed, at least in part, by a tongue integral with, and in the plane of, the bottom panel extending substantially horizontally and being disposed at an angle with respect to the upwardly extending side portion of the blank, the method comprising the steps of engaging the blank at said aperture immediately above said tongue, and substantially simultaneously elevating the bottom surface of the receptacles to a level above, and spaced from, the top surface of the bottom panels by engagement of the underside of said protruding portions; and then gradually reducing the horizontal distance from the points of blank engagement on one side of the package to the points of blank engagement on the other side while maintaining the receptacles elevated for at least a portion of the horizontal distance reducing period.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 in which the package is being advanced in the direction open end leading and in which the engagement with the blank and with the receptacles is a sliding engagement.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 in which the package is being advanced in the direction open end leading, and in which the engagement with the blank and with the receptacles is a sliding engagement, the method being characterized by the further and subsequent step of urging the terminal laterally projecting edge of opposed tongues towards each other by compressive force applied to said edges.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 in which the package is being advanced in the direction open end leading, in which the engagement with the blank and with the receptacles is a sliding engagement, the method being characterized by the further and subsequent steps of urging the terminal laterally projecting edge of opposed tongues towards each other by compressive force applied to said edges and, during application of said force, securing together the overlapping end portions of the blank in the position of maximum overlap.

5. A device for tightening a wrap-around blank about a group of receptacles prior to the securing together of the end portions of the blank underneath the group of receptacles in a position in which the end portions overlap partially and form a package bottom, said blank having apertures formed at the junction between its side panels and its bottom panels through which apertures rim portions of the receptacles project, such apertures being formed, at least in part, by a tongue integral with, and in the plane of, the package bottom and being disposed at an angle with respect to the upwardly extending side panel of the blank, the device comprising transport means for advancing said group and a blank in a direction transverse to the longest dimension of the blank, the device being characterized by a pair of spaced blades disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, said blades being of tapered transverse cross section and having blank engaging edges extending into said apertures to engage the blank immediately above said tongues and to engage with its upper surface said receptacles underneath their protruding rim portions to elevate said receptacles above the level of the respective blank end portion, said edges converging in the direction of advance of said transport means so as to draw the end portions of the blank together to increase their overlap while said receptacles are resting on said upper surface.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which at a point downstream with respect to said blades a pair of rollers are provided laterally disposed with respect to the path of the package, said rollers having dovetailed peripheral portions for engaging said tongues and exerting tightening pressure on the end portions of the blank to increase their overlap to a degree greater than the overlap existing prior to entry of the tongues into the nip of the pair of rollers.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6 in which a means for securing the end portions of the blank is provided between said rollers to act on said blank substantially at the moment of passage of said tongues between said rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1961 Ganz 5348 7/1969 Ganz 53-48 X US. Cl. X.R. 5348 

